Wharram Percy ~ Easy Walk

Distance: 2.75 miles   Time to complete walk: 1.5 hours

Safety Tips: No safety issues- wear sensible footwear and take a stick as part of the walk can get muddy after rain.

A walk to the deserted medieval village of Wharram Percy which is one of the most famous of many remaining ancient villages. Ideal for families to look at a fine church and a farm building. There are excellent information panels along the walk which explain the history of the village. Great for kids and everything is free!

 

The Wharram Percy Walk

 

Getting There

From Middlesbrough follow the B1257 to Helmsley. Go through Helmsley and turn right on the A170 briefly. Then head back onto the B1257 through Hovingham until you come to Malton. Follow the B1248 through North Grimston and look for a right turning signed to Wharram Percy shortly after. Parking is free and is on the right.

 

Map of the Wharram Percy Walk

 

The Walk

 

From the car park follow the grass track down towards the village.

 

 

 

Sign to the village

 

Follow the track down

 

 

You are on a section of the Wolds Way. Go through a gate and head for another gate over a small field which leads down to a bridge.

 

 

 

Go through gate

 

Go over the bridge



 

 

Head up some steps and you will come to the official entrance to Wharram Percy which is through another gate.

 

 

Entrance to Wharram Percy

 

Turn left and follow the track and head towards the farm building. There are information panels all along the route.

 

 

 

Follow the track to the left

 

Head towards the farm building



 

If you wish to learn more about the farm building there are information panels around the village.

 

 

Information Panel

 

Farm Building

 

Head towards the church which you can explore whilst learning about the history of it on the information panels.

 

 

Head towards the church

 

St Martins church at Wharram Percy

 

Information Panel

 

 

 

From the church head past the fish pond and look for a path upwards to the left.

 

 

 

Head past the fish pond

 

Follow the path up to the left of the pond

 

 

Follow the path upwards towards a gate and go through the gate.



 

Head up towards the gate

 

Go through the gate

 

Follow the track for some time which is above Deep Dale and has a great view all around.

 

 

Follow the track ahead

 

View of Deep Dale on your right

 

 

As the grass track swings to the right, look for a gate and stile on your left and go over the stile. 

 

 

Go through the gate and stile on your left

 

 

Follow this grassy track until shortly after you pass some woods you come to a lane.

 

Keep ahead on the track

 

 

Head past the woods

 

 

Head onto the lane



Head onto the lane and follow the lane to the left. Follow the lane until you come back to the carpark.

 

Follow the lane ahead

 

Reach the carpark

 

 

Wharram Percy

 

Wharram Percy is a deserted medieval village (DMV) on the western edge of the chalk Wolds of North Yorkshire, England. It is about 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Wharram-le-Street and is signposted from the B1248 Beverley to Malton road. Wharram Percy was part of the East Riding of Yorkshire until the 1974 boundary changes. Wharram Percy is a significant English DMV, although there are remains of others in a similarly good state of preservation. The earthworks of the village have been known for many years, and outlines of house platforms were drawn onto the first Ordnance Survey six-inch maps of Yorkshire published in 1854. The site was researched each summer by combined teams of archaeologists, historians and even botanists, from about 1950 to 1990 after it was singled out for study in 1948 by Professor Maurice Beresford of the University of Leeds

 

Although the site seems to have been settled since prehistory, the village appears to have been most active from the 10th to the 12th centuries. The Domesday Book of 1086 records it as 'Warran' or 'Warron'. The suffix 'Percy' stems from the prominent, aristocratic family that owned the area during the Middle Ages.
The Black Death of 1348–49 does not seem to have played a significant part in the desertion of Wharram Percy, although the large fall in population in the country as a whole at that time must have encouraged relocation to larger settlements.
In 1402 or 1403, the Percy family exchanged their holdings in the area with the Hylton family. Following changes in prices and wages during the 15th century, pastoral farming (particularly sheep) was more profitable for landowners than cereal farming. Over the century following, the Hylton family devoted more and more land to sheep, as their employment of agricultural labour decreased. During the early 16th century, the last residents of Wharram Percy were evicted and their homes were demolished to make room for more sheep pasture.

The site is now in the care of Historic England. Although only the ruined church is easily visible above ground, much more of the village layout can be seen in the surrounding fields. English Heritage installed information panels around the site, and provided an audio tour downloadable in mp3 format from the English Heritage website.
A scientific study published in 2004 of human skeletal remains from the deserted village reveals details of disease, diet and death in a rural medieval community.
The Yorkshire Wolds Way National Trail passes through the site, and the Centenary Way long-distance footpath passes to the east of the village.

 

 

 



 



 

 





 

 

Egton Bridge ~ Medium Walk

Distance: 4 miles Time to complete walk: 2 hours

Safety Tips: The forest part of the walk can get muddy - prepare by wearing the correct boots and clothes. A walking stick helps. The second half of the walk includes a steep climb. Parts of the walk are on the road, although they are not busy roads, always be aware of traffic.

A nice walk which features a visit to a 17th century bridge - Beggars Bridge The start of the walk Egton Bridge is a pretty village and the walk then takes you through a forest with the River Esk and the Esk Valley railway as your companions. Then back beside the river to the pretty village of Egton Bridge.

 

The Egton Bridge walk

Getting There

From Middlesbrough at the top of Ormesby Bank, turn left and follow the A171 past Guisborough and up Birk Brow. Look for a turning to the right which is signposted to Glaisdale. Take a right turn onto Egton High Street and then drive through Egton Village. Further on you will come to Egton Bridge. Parking can be found on a right turn near the train station. Parking is free of charge.

 

Map of the Egton Bridge walk

 

From the car park turn right and head past the church (which is worth a visit).

 

Church at Egton

 

Go past Broom House Lane and cross the bridge over the River Esk. At a three way fork in the road, keep on the road ahead.

 

 

Keep ahead at the fork in the road

 

Keep on this road which rises a bit steeply and look for a path to your right which is into the forest via a gravel path. Go through to the gate into the forest.

 

 

Go through the gate

 

Make your way through the forest which has the River Esk beside it and it rises and then falls to the riverside.

 

Keep to the forest path

 

 

 

View of the River Esk

 

At the end of the forest path cross a footbridge and under the railway bridge and onto Beggars Bridge.

 

Cross over the footbridge

 

Beggars Bridge information

 

 

Beggars Bridge

 

 

Cross over Beggars Bridge and go through to the gate ahead.

 

 

Go through the gate

 

 

Climb the steep path through the trees in a direction to the left. The walk is steep but short. You will then emerge above at a stile.

 

 

Follow the track upwards

 

Go over the stile

 

 

Head over to a gap in the hedge and to the stile ahead. Go over the stile onto the road.

 

 

 

Head towards the next stile

 

Climb the stile onto the road

 

Turn right on the road and walk the ascent to the top. At the top, look for a right turn which doubles back just before the sharp left turn in the road.

 

 

 

Turn right and climb to the top of the road

 

Turn right and towards a gate on the left







 

Head towards the gate on the left which goes forward and then bends back to the left. Head towards a gravel track ahead.



 

 

Follow the gravel track ahead

 

 

As the gravel track bends to the right, go over a stile to the ahead instead.

 

 

 

Go over the stile

Keep ahead on the field with the hedge to your right

 

Keep ahead on the field with the hedge to your right

 

In the corner of the field go through another stile and through the trees emerging at another stile.

 

 

Go over the stile in the corner of the field

 

Follow the path through the trees

 

Go over the stile and then head towards the corner of this field and over a stream. Then head across the next field to a age onto a road.

 

Go over the stile and head towards a gate

 

 

Climb over the gate onto the road

 

Turn right onto the road and follow this back until you zcome to a junction. Turn left at the junction and then back to the car park. The walk back to Egton Bridge is peaceful and besides the River Esk.

 

River Esk

 

 

Turn left back to Egton Bridge

 

 

Statue at the church

 

 

Egton Bridge



 

Egton Bridge is a village in the Scarborough district of North Yorkshire, England. It lies within the North York Moors National Park, on the River Esk, between the villages of Glaisdale and Grosmont, about six miles south-west of Whitby, and on the route of the Esk Valley Walk.
The stone bridge that crosses the Esk was rebuilt in 1992, having been destroyed by flood in the 1930s.
The village is served by Egton railway station, on the Esk Valley Line, which also serves the nearby village of Egton.
There are two hotels in the village: the Horseshoe Hotel and the Postgate Inn.

Shows and fairs

Egton Bridge Gooseberry Show

Egton Bridge is the setting for the oldest surviving gooseberry show in the country, established in 1800. The show is held on the first Tuesday in August each year by the Egton Bridge Old Gooseberry Society.

Egton Show

Egton Horse and Agricultural Society runs an agricultural show each summer. It often features attractions such as a wrought iron and farrier display, a farmers market, show competitions for horse, cattle, sheep, goat, ferret, fur and feather classes, together with bee keeping, produce and handicraft and children's sections. It is one of the largest village shows in the country run by a band of voluntary helpers.